Machine for generating electric current.



QR 1 yl fi 9511 H. E. BURGER.

MACHINE FOR GENERATING ELECTRIC CURRENT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.2l. 19H- .G. 1:1 i t. mg 1 lm r m n0 (1.1. Ow

2% Wu 7 A 1G.

H. E. BURGER.

MACHINE FOR GENERATING ELECTRIC CURRENT.

APPLICATION man uov.2l. 1914.

1 ,1 96,5 1 1 Patented Aug. 29, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- aaaza y In: nan-12mins m. "mourns ,wunmsmu. u c

w to, id.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY nrononn, or narrow, 0310, ASSIGNOB or ONE-HALF 'ro vmcnn'r e. APPLE,

or DAYTON, omo.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 29, 1916.

Application filed November 27, 1914. Serial No. 874,167.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY E. Bononn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Generating Electric Current, of which the following is a specification.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an apparatus whereby to produce or generate a current of electricity, by projecting a stream of rapidly moving electrically conductive fluid, such as mercury or other similar fluid material, gas or vapor, through a magnetic field.

Other and further objects of my invention will become obvious, to persons skilled in the art, from a consideration of the following description when taken in conjunction with the drawings whereina Figure 1 is a transverse section taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 2, of one embodiment of my current generator. Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section taken on the curved line 3-3 of Fig. 2 showing diagrammatically the fluid circulating system or path in its simplest form. Figs. 4 and 5 are modifications of Fig. 3. Figs. 6 and 7 are sections on lines 6-6 and 77 of Figs. 4 and 5, respectively.

An essential desideratum of my invention is the provision of an insulated path, for an inductor fluid, through an intense magnetic field and means to propel this fluid through said path at a relatively high rate of speed or velocity, whereby to generate a current of electricity in said fluid, and means whereby to conduct the electric current so generated away from said propelled liquid. One form of magnetic field through which the fluid or liquid is impelled is provided by the structure shown in Fig. 1 wherein the disks or plates 1010', made of magnetically permeable material, such as soft steel, iron or the like, are substantial duplicates. The disks are counterbored to provide an annular channel 18 except near their rims, as at 1111, where the two plates come together, to close the magnetic circuit, and are joined by bolts 12. In this annular channel is included an electric helix or coil 13 of insulated copper wire, in the shape of a ring, provided with terminals 13+ and 13- which terminals are to be led away to a proper source of electric energy to supply current for magnetically energizing the disks. In other words, the coil 13 is the field winding for supplying the necessary magnetism to the field poles 10 and 10'. Within the annular channel between the pole pieces 10 and 10', and within the diameter of the coil 13, is a conducting ring 14, preferably of copper, operating as a collector for the current produced by the flowing fluids, and connected thereto is a wire 15 which leads away to a working circuit to be supplied by current from the inductive apparatus. Near the axial center of the disk is a plug of conducting material, such as copper or the like, 16, which closes the annular channel between the disks 10 and 10' and which serves as another collector for the current generated by the movin fluid, and to which is connected a wire constituting part of the circuit of which the wire 15 also forms a part.

The annular channel 18 for the flow of the fluid, is insulated on all sides, as at 19 and 20, leaving only the collectors 14 and 16 exposed to the contact of the contained fluid.

A partition wall 21 extends from the con-v nector ring 14 to the connector plug 16 and is located in a radial plane in the channel 18. This partition of insulating material, serves as a stop for the fluid and compels it to pass through the annular channel in a given direction. On one side of the partition 21 is an opening 22, preferably tapered, and a similar opening 23 on the other side. These openings are made through the respective disks, as shown in Fig. 3, and each of the openings is insulated by insulating material 24, which joins the insulating material 19 and that bound the annular channel between the disks 10 and 10'. A conduit 25 communicates with the opening 23 and a conduit 26 communicates with the opening 22. The inducin fluid passes through the conduit 26 into the opening 22 and thence into the channel 18 between the disks 10 and 10' and out through the opening 23 into the conduit 25. I have shown a pump 27, as a typical means for circulating the liquid or causing it to be impelled through the conduits 25 and 26. A reservoir 28 may be attached to the conduit 26 by a pipe 29.

When a current conducting material, such as 30, which may be mercury, orother fluid or gas, is passed through the annular channel existing between the plates 10 and 10', in which there is a strong magnetic field extending acroSS the channel, a current of electricity will be induced, iii a. moving body' of fluid, in the directions of the arrows shown in Fig. 1, or at right angles to the direction of the lines of the magnetic field in accordance with the well known laws of electro-magnetic induction, which current proceeds through the fluid to the positive terminal wire 15, and throughthe working circuit provided by the wires 15 and 17 to the terminal 16.

To avoid the tendency of short circuiting through the inducing fluid or material within the device, I may place partitions, of insulating material, and 26 in the respective conduits extending consecutively through the fluid path between the current collectors 14 and 16 and I may cause these partitions to extend some distance from the inducting device into the respective conduits, as shown in Fig. 4, or -I may have separate conduits, such as 26 and 25 and separate pumps 27 27 27 and 27 for the respective conduits and insulate the respective streams from each other outside of the device or other means than that specified may be employed to accomplish this result. The conduits may also lead into the channel 18 on an angle, as

shown in Figs. 4 and 5,'to favor the projec tion of the liquid in into the channel.

The propagation of current in the flowing fluid or liquid takes place while said medium is moving at right angles to the lines of force through the magnetic field, and as is well known the current produced with a given length of conductor, is proportional to the field density and the velocity of said moving inductor. The magnetic field, by the arthe proper direction,

rangement shown, maybe made very intense and the speed of the liquid, which is due to the pressure exerted upon it by the impelling medium, such as the pump, may be increased to an extentlimited only by the nature of the path for the liquid, through which it flows.

is My invention may be adapted for other materialsthan mercury. Any fluid, liquidv orother material sufliciently mobile to be urged through a conduit and which has the power to conduct a current of electricity may be utilized with more or less satisfaction for this purpose, and while I have herein shown a. single embodiment of my invention 7' and described it with some particularity, it

is to be understood that thisis only for-the. purpose of clear disclosure and that my invention is-not limited beyond the'scope of e the appended-claims.

Having described my invention, what I claimisi- -T 1. 1 -1. A machine for producing electric current comprising meansv for creating .a magnetic field; snag -lama conduit for conducting a fluid to, through and from said field and partitions of insulating material extending longitudinally of said conduit, without the field.

2. A machine for producing electric current comprising means for creating a mag- ..netic field; an insulated conduit for conducting a fluid through said field, and a plurality of fluid conductors communicating with each end of said conduit.

of fluid conductors communicating with said I conduit and located obliquely with reference to said conduit.-

5. A machine for producing an electric current comprising two juxtaposed, spaced apart magnetically and oppositely polarized disks, an insulated annular path way for a conducting fluid between said disks; a central conductor insulated from said disks, a

peripheral, insulated conductor closing the annular space-between said disks; a radially positioned partition of insulating material extending from the central to the peripheral conductor and an opening through the respective disks through which to receive and discharge a fluid conductor from said conduit.

i 6. A device of the character described comprising two confronting. magnetically susceptible disks, joined at their peripheral edges and counter-bored therefrom to their axes; a coil for electric current within said counter-bore, to magnetize said disks; :1 current collecting ring within said coil; :1 current collecting plug at the axes of said disks, closing said counter-bore; insulating material lining-the side walls of the annular space between said collectors; a transversely disposed partition of insulating material across said annular space and a conduit on each side of said partition through the respective disks, communicating with said ace. H

In testimonywhereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

L y .HENRY E. BORGER. In the presence-of 5 'jMoanIs P. Caomnn, EDITH'PRATHER.

0! this obtained thrive 58in each, addrelsing "Commissioner 01 Pat n 2' I "w s s a ga pc i 

